
SVG Sit-Down: At IBC 2022, Vizrt Team Reflects on the Company's Transformation Since 2019 The exhibit touted cloud developments, Engine 5, and NDI version 5.5 By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Monday, September 19, 2022 - 11:26 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Vizrt was one of the companies that showed up at IBC transformed since IBC 2019. The acquisition of NDI, which was fresh in 2019, is now fully integrated and baked into the Vizrt environment; the cloud and virtualized tools continue to gain interest from customers; and the company even announced acquisition of Flowics at the show. During the show, SVG caught up with four members of the Vizrt team: TJ Akhtar, VP, product management, Vizrt; Suso Carrillo, NDI marketing lead, Vizrt Group; Amisa Saari-Stout, communications specialist, Vizrt; and Ulrich Voigt, VP, product management, Vizrt Cloud Solutions, Vizrt. Below is an edited transcript of the conversation.
(l-to-r) Vizrt's Suso Carillo; Ulrich Voight, Amasi Saari-Stout, and TJ Akhtar at IBC last week.
What are the big storylines for Vizrt at IBC 2022?
Akhtar: From a group perspective, there are a lot of new things. At NAB, we talked a lot about the cloud piece and new developments on the Viz Engine side as well as NDI. At our Vizrt days, we had a preview of two big things: the cloud piece and the release of Viz Engine 5. Fast forward a few more months, and we now have NDI version 5.5 and then the acquisition of Flowics in the past few days. So it has been a very busy period for us.
Can you give us an update on the Vizrt engine?
Akhtar: A couple of the big pieces of Engine 5. We rewrote the integration with Unreal Engine 5, which was released earlier this year. That comes with a lot of new features like Lumen for the lighting piece, and you can build your own virtual world and mass scale with Nanite [the virtualized geometry system in version 5]. We want to utilize all those features and rebuild our integration from the ground up so the features can be used natively, including the retracing. We can control from Viz Engine and our control application pretty much every single element as part of an Unreal Scene.
On top of that, we also added asset management of Unreal Engine Scenes, which can be multiple gigs. We've added support for Unreal within our Graphics Hub, which is a massive piece and gives redundancy when collaborating and security of your traffic files.
We also have adaptive graphics for adaptive storytelling where content is delivered on multiple platforms and over multiple target points. And we've actually passed the inflection point where consumption is on digital vs. linear broadcast, so we want to make it easier for broadcasters to create graphics that can be used and played out via multiple sources and whether it is 16:9 or 9:16 for TikTok or square for Instagram and Facebook. Adaptive graphics enables all of that, and our broadcast partners can design a graphic once and use it multiple times without having to duplicate the design.
Let's talk NDI 5.5. What's new, and what does it mean to the marketplace?
Carrillo: The key point with NDI 5.5 is that the focus is on NDI Tools, which is a suite of free tools that have features like multi-audio management, an NDI switcher, and some other capabilities.
NDI now has a lot of flexibility, and that's why we decided to improve the features so that everybody can have a multichannel-audio workflow.
Akhtar: Just to add to that: one of the benefits of NDI 5.5 as part of Viz Engine is the insertion of metadata within the NDI stream. That enables the graphics piece to do multi-camera remote production purely on NDI. That is enabled by new features that will be coming in a later release of NDI. When it comes to live production, the improvements move us towards live production in the cloud.
Let's talk about the cloud. Vizrt has been doing virtualized hardware for a long time. How does that help with customers moving production to the cloud?
Voigt: It's an easy step for us to go into the cloud and with some optimizations. The first step is that all our products are now running in the cloud so you can do Engine in the cloud, you can do switching, you can do replay, you can do sport analysis and even virtual ad overlays. And NDI is the fabric to make it possible and combine with on-premises equipment. For sports analysis, we can now get live camera feeds from the stadium and then do all the analysis and illustration creation in the cloud live and then get the signal back into the production.
The trick is, how do you make that accessible to the general user without the need for cloud engineers who are focused on security and the virtual environment? That is one reason we developed a cloud deployment platform that can set up the infrastructure and Vizrt tools virtually within 15 minutes after a template is selected for a type of production. All the user needs to do is connect to it, and they can do their work. We can still do remote production with hardware set up in two locations, but, with the cloud, you can build the whole production gallery in a matter of minutes by just selecting a template. Then the team has full control and can tweak it.
But key is that the cloud is just another infrastructure; it's not another product. And that makes it seamless: the user can have half of it in the cloud and half of it in the OB van. They can connect together and have the same workflow and create graphics and use them everywhere. Or they can create a show rundown in Mozart to automate the show in the cloud or in hardware.
The remote accessibility of NDI gives you a lot of new workflow possibilities. A remote commentator can use free NDI tools and NDI bridge to connect to the cloud, and everything is based on current workflows, so they don't need a cloud-enginee
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
10/12/2025
Sound-Alike Commercials Are Part of Sports' Soundtrack Johnny Cash for Coca-Cola is the latest in a long litany of sonic approximationsBy Dan Daley, Audio ...
10/12/2025
Immersive Sound Is Logical Next Step for Sports VenuesSound-systems suppliers are sanguine, but the market has its challengesBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednes...
10/12/2025
The Romans Built Arenas for Immersive Sound 2,000 Years AgoThe historic Arena of Nimes in France is still in use todayBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, De...
10/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Audio Workshop Hits on Immersive, Virtualized, and Next...
10/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview: Audio SpotlightBy SVG Staff
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 8:21 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
10/12/2025
SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...
10/12/2025
Advancements in audio technology: Capturing the atmosphere of live sports By David Davies
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 09:27
Print This Story
Although wor...
10/12/2025
Everything smelled of popcorn: The art of bringing the complex sound of esports ...
10/12/2025
Top L-R: Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, Hanging by a Wire, Broken English, Buddy
C...
10/12/2025
For the first time, Spotify is giving users the power to steer the algorithm. Gustav S derstr m, Spotify's Co-President, CPO, and CTO, shares the vision beh...
10/12/2025
L3Harris' new contract for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Insensitive ...
10/12/2025
L3Harris Meadowlands system has been designed with an open architecture software system that allows for more flexible and efficient software updates. This capab...
10/12/2025
During this interval, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (46.4%...
10/12/2025
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. Bitcentral, a provider of production, asset management, playout and streaming workflow solutions, has named technology veteran Rick Arnold...
10/12/2025
TV Tech is delighted to reveal the winners of the 2025 Media & Entertainment: Best in Market Awards....
10/12/2025
BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broad...
10/12/2025
In a notable example of how pay TV operators are integrating streaming services into their lineup and using those services to retain or attract subscribers, Dir...
10/12/2025
Today, Chaos builds instant feedback into the viewport, connecting Maya and Houdini to Chaos Vantage's real-time path tracer. Artists can now assess 3D asse...
10/12/2025
Smeup, a key partner for companies engaged in digital transformation, today announced the expansion of its adoption of Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud s...
10/12/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced two significant milestones...
10/12/2025
BEAVERTON, Ore. HDR10+ Technologies, LLC has announced that they will soon begin the licensing and certification of devices, content, and services that support ...
10/12/2025
SMPTE has joined forces with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) to publish an updated report on AI and its impact o...
10/12/2025
Clear-Com is pleased to announce the appointment of Kris Koch as Director of Sales - North & South America. In this expanded leadership role, Kris will oversee...
10/12/2025
Mavis today announced the latest version of Mavis Camera (v7.4), a major update to its professional iOS camera app, headlined by the launch of Film Kit - an opt...
10/12/2025
Creamsource, renowned for its Vortex series of cinematic lighting, is laying the groundwork for its next phase of growth with the addition of Markus Zeiler as G...
10/12/2025
Digital Alert Systems, a global leader in emergency communications solutions for media providers, today announced that the DAS3-DC-PS, a new DC power supply opt...
10/12/2025
Riedel Communications today announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Racing Electronics, a premier provider of motorsport communication equipment in...
10/12/2025
#GALSNGEAR is launching two signature leadership retreats in early 2026, designed to equip women in media, entertainment, and technology with the tools to lead...
10/12/2025
Providing worldwide customers with total confidence through transparent, all-inclusive pricing
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video...
10/12/2025
With the Federal Communications Commission working on new rules for the deployment of NextGen TV, next year promises to be an important one for both the future ...
10/12/2025
DENVER Tom Rutledge, director emeritus and former president and CEO of Charter Communications, will be honored with the 2026 Bresnan Ethics in Business Award by...
10/12/2025
NEW YORK Novocap's Cadent has acquired VuePlanner, a YouTube video ad planning, optimization, and measurement company in a deal that will help Cadent expand...
10/12/2025
In preparation for the madness of March, here are some important reminders for scheduling back-to-back Special Playlists.
The first Special Playlist MUST end b...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON's Rising Capital Markets Profile Strengthened by Inclusion...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON Recognized for JazzCash, Kyivstar and Jazz at the World Commun...
10/12/2025
December 10th, 2025
TRIBECA FILMS TO RELEASE THE INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY FILM...
10/12/2025
Wednesday 10 December 2025
Sky extends partnership with the Ladies European Tour for a landmark 30th year
Sky and the Ladies European Tour (LET) have announce...
10/12/2025
Wednesday 10 December 2025
Walk-on if you love the darts: James Maddison, Luke ...
10/12/2025
Rohde & Schwarz presents world's first RF power sensor with 0.80 mm RF conne...
10/12/2025
Back to All News
2026 Starts With a Swoon: Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung Lead C...
10/12/2025
Back to All News
Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine Arrives to Netflix on May 15
Entertainment
10 December 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
THE N...
10/12/2025
It's out of the frying pan and into the sequins for comedian and actor Micha...
10/12/2025
Born That Way airs Thursday 18 December on RT One and RT Player
Born That ...
09/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Pam Oliver, Sideline Icon Who Redefined t...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 2By Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 7:17 am
Print This Story | Subscr...
09/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Cloud Production Workshop Spotlights Live and Non-Live ...
09/12/2025
Next-generation content protection: Multi-technology security is integral to com...
09/12/2025
CBS Sports Provides One-of-a-Kind Production' for UEFA Champions League Cro...
09/12/2025
Spanish Professional Basketball League Relies on NETGEAR AV, MAM Tech for Seamle...